With the prevalence of networks in recent years, not only personal computers but also various products such as portable phones, electronic apparatuses, and so-called digital household appliances can be connected to networks. Environments in which electronic apparatuses are used in cooperation extend not only to office use but also to home use. Household appliances and other products which so far have been used independently are now connected to networks.
Under these circumstances, easy connection, setting and control are required for various apparatuses to be connected to networks. Particularly in ad hoc environments such as a home network and hot spot, such requirements are significant since those who connect or set various apparatuses are not always experts of networks or electronic apparatus techniques.
Examples of network techniques that can meet such requirements include Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), BMLinkS, Rendezvous, Jini®, Jxta®, and HAVi. These techniques facilitate setups, settings, and addition of apparatuses connected to networks, and make it possible to detect and control services and network devices such as network printers, Internet gateways, and household appliances.
With these techniques apparatuses exchange, as profile information with each other, information of a device name, manufacturer, version, ID, and the like or information of interfaces and the like for using the services, thereby enabling the detection and control (e.g., see non-patent reference 1).
There also exists an apparatus which is equipped with a conversion gateway for combining the above-mentioned various techniques based on different standards (e.g., see patent reference 1).
Patent reference 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-505360
Non-patent reference 1: UPnP Device Architecture Version 1.0.